Just before he stepped into the blocks, Usain Bolt made a sign of intent. A single swoop of the arm, mimicking a bird or a plane. Or superman. Bolt, the 22-year-old world record breaker, last night rocked the globe once more, lowering his own record by a massive 0.11 of a second. All that talk of a slow track, dismissed in just 9.58 seconds; you had to rub your eyes to believe it. Beating his chest as he crossed the line, this time there was no showboating, only seriously fast sprinting from the Jamaican star.

In Berlin's Olympic Stadium the crowd roared at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Beijing was special – three Olympic gold medals and three world records – but to again break the world record in the sport's most feted distance, this was something truly spectacular.

"I can definitely say it's the best feeling ever," Bolt told the spectators. After what they had just seen, they probably felt the same way. Even his competitors could not quite believe it. Asafa Powell, who finished in third place, said: "When I saw the time, I knew I had to go out and catch him. But even after the finish I couldn't catch him."

Bolt kept a low profile through the first three rounds, evidently saving his best for the main event.

"I knew it was going to be a great race," he said afterwards in a BBC interview, "and I executed it. It's a great time, a great feeling, I feel good in myself and I knew I could do it. There was a big build-up, great atmosphere. It wasn't going to be an easy race, but I had a perfect start and just went from there. I came out here to do my best and I did what I had to do."

Even in the semi-final Bolt was still relaxed. Licking his fingers, smoothing his eyebrows, patting his hair, ever the entertainer. When he unexpectedly false started, he had the stadium audibly chuckling. As the notoriously slow starter previously joked, "when have I ever made a false start?"

The nervous line-up beside him was not so relaxed, Britain's Tyrone Edgar the casualty of the tension as he false started at the second gun. On the third Bolt sped away, unperturbed, clinching his lead and then nonchalantly jogging to the finish line. Job done. In 9.89 seconds.

In the weeks and months leading up to Berlin, Bolt had talked about becoming a legend in his sport, about proving that last year's Olympic feats were no fluke. In yesterday's race Bolt showed how much he wanted it. Ahead from the 30m mark, he avoided the criticism from last year when he had jogged to the line, and this time pushed it all the way to the finish. He brought every single one of his competitors with him, stretching their capabilities, Tyson Gay recording a national record of 9.71 to claim the silver medal, while Powell pulled out a season's best of 9.84sec to capture bronze.

It left you wondering: if Bolt can run this fast in a post-Olympic year, after the distractions of interviews, talk shows and celebrity parties, after losing weeks of training because of a car accident that had him rolled in a ditch, despite the fact that his 6ft 5in frame prevents him from getting a decent start, and claiming to be just 85% fit weeks before arriving in Berlin, then what on earth will this man do next?

While the world will struggle to take in this latest of extraordinary feats, there was a small corner, over by the finish line, for whom the fastest man in the world is simply 'Usain'. As Bolt draped himself in the national flag, a tiny contingent from Jamaica waited for their man.

Making his way to the barrier to reach them, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt reached out to grab their remarkable son. From the tiny village of Sherwood Content – where his father brought home yams to a boy who did not yet know about bright city lights, fast cars, nightclubs and chicken nuggets – to becoming the world's biggest track and field star. It has been quite some journey.

There is more to come. Tomorrow, Bolt will start his campaign to make the 200m final. "There'll be no partying for me ahead of Tuesday," he told his TV interviewer. "I'll rest up as always." For a man who lives to dance, as much as to run, that statement says everything about his intent.

• This article was amended on 18 August 2009, to make clear that Usain Bolt's remarks included two made in a TV interview.